'The Chair' — Practice

Question 1

What was the 'magic chair' and how did it work?

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: The 'magic chair' was an invisible chair given by Grandpa. Mario took it to school and tried to sit on it. The 'magic' was that when he finally sat (apparently in mid-air), he saw that Guneet, Asma, and Deepa were holding him up — while everyone else just laughed at his falls. The chair revealed who his true friends were.

Question 2

Why did Grandpa use a test instead of just telling Mario who his real friends were?

Accepted Answer

Step 1 — Mario was boastful: He 'showed off a lot' about his many friends. A direct statement ('those kids aren't your real friends') would have been rejected — Mario wouldn't have believed it.

Step 2 — Experience teaches deeper than words: Grandpa knew that if Mario SAW his classmates laughing while a few held him up, the lesson would be undeniable. You can argue with words; you can't argue with what you've seen.

Step 3 — Self-discovery is lasting: Mario didn't just learn the names of his three real friends. He learned a METHOD for identifying true friendship — the 'magic chair test' — that he and his friends used 'on many occasions' thereafter.

Step 4 — Parallel to Chapter 1: Grandpa's method mirrors Sage Mahipati's in 'A Bottle of Dew.' Both wise elders knew that the person who needs to learn won't listen to lectures — they need to experience the truth.

✦ Answer: Grandpa used a test because Mario wouldn't have believed words alone. He needed to SEE his classmates' reactions — the laughter vs the helping hands — to understand the difference between companions and true friends. The experience was the lesson.

Question 3

How does this story connect to the other two chapters in Unit 2?

Accepted Answer

✦ Answer: Chapter 1 (The Unlikely Best Friends) SHOWED friendship through an emotional story of loyalty and reunion. Chapter 2 (A Friend's Prayer) REFLECTED on friendship through a personal commitment to being a better friend. Chapter 3 (The Chair) TESTS friendship — giving students a practical way to identify who their real friends are. Together, the three chapters form a complete arc: see friendship (Ch1) → commit to being a friend (Ch2) → learn to recognise true friends (Ch3).

Practice — 'The Chair'

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